Fisher Village Board selects new police chief

FISHER — The Fisher Village Board appointed a permanent police chief Thursday, but he is not new to the town.

Charlie Shepard, who has served as interim chief since August, was the board’s unanimous choice for the permanent job.

Mayor Milt Kelly said the town is fortunate to have the 57-year-old former Champaign police officer as its chief. Kelly said Shepard will move to Fisher as soon as he can.

Kelly noted in Shepard’s resume that he served in the U.S. Army after the ouster of Manuel Noriega in Panama and ran a police station there.

The previous chief, Rob Bross, resigned in the wake of a village board decision that requires full-time village employees to live within village limits. Bross went to work as Atwood chief of police.

No action on trustee appointmentIn other business, the board did not act on Kelly’s November recommendation to appoint former Trustee Floyd Meek to the vacant seat on the board.

In October the board did not concur with Kelly’s appointment of former Trustee Chris White to the board. State law allows Kelly alone to appoint one of the two candidates he proposed. Kelly said he would “consider Meek’s nomination denied,” take the board’s nondecision under advisement and name someone at the January meeting to fill the vacant seat.